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"Some of the products we were working on were very cool,"
Mannion said.
He said those innovations were impacting people's lives in ways
they wouldn't normally notice.
Coghlin Companies provides contract manufacturing services to a
diverse array of device and equipment manufacturers and select
entrepreneurs. Mannion said the term contract manufacturing
doesn't quite do justice to full range of what Coghlin does to help
partner companies scale up.
Some of the products the employees work with include body-
scanners for security, automated warehouse fulfilment systems and
medical devices, according to Mannion.
Mannion had worked in other industries with internships at an oil
and gas company and a property management company, but neither
were as fulfilling as working in manufacturing. He said he likes
being able to work with new technologies.
As business development specialist, it's Mannion's job not to work
directly on the production process, but to find companies who need
to scale up and can use the services Coghlin has to offer. Unlike
other contract manufacturers, Mannion said Coghlin is able to
foster a stronger one-one-one relationship with its strategic
partners.
He finds clients by creating a list of companies in growing
industries and calls them to see what their needs are.
His advice to other young people getting into manufacturing or
building a career in the sector is to be persistent, network with local
firms to find opportunities and demonstrate your passion in the
work.
Ryan Mannion, 27
Business development specialist
Company: Coghlin Companies Inc.
Company location: Westborough
Lives: Boston
Education level: Bachelor's degree in business
Salary: Mean annual salary for wholesale sales
representatives in technical manufacturing in
Massachusetts was $96,570 in 2017, according
to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Coghlin Cos. creates complex machines.
P H O T O / C O N T R I B U T E D
P H O T O / C O N T R I B U T E D